Deckers Outdoor v. The RFA Group NYC - Complaint

Case 1:19-cv-04725 Document 1 Filed 05/22/19 Page 1 of 17
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
DECKERS OUTDOOR CORPORATION, Civil Action No.
a Delaware Corporation,
PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT FOR
DAMAGES AND EQUITABLE
Plaintiff, RELIEF
-vs-
THE RFA GROUP NYC, LLC, a New

York Limited Liability Company dba THE
RFA GROUP, LLC; and DOES 1-10,
inclusive,
Defendants.
Plaintiff Deckers Outdoor Corporation for its claims against Defendant

The RFA Group NYC, LLC dba The RFA Group, LLC respectfully alleges as
follows:
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
1. Plaintiff files this action against Defendant for trade dress
infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Trademark Act of 1946, 15
U.S.C. §1051 et seq. (the "Lanham Act"), patent infringement arising under the
patent laws of the United States, and for related claims under the common law of
the state of New York. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the claims
alleged in this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338, 1367.
2. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant because
Defendant is incorporated in and does business in this judicial district.
3. This action arises out of wrongful acts by Defendant within this
judicial district and Defendant is incorporated in and does business in this judicial
district. Venue is proper in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1400.
1
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND EQUITABLE RELIEF
THE PARTIES
4. Plaintiff Deckers Outdoor Corporation ("Deckers") is a corporation
organized and existing under the laws of the state of Delaware with an office and
principal place of business in Goleta, California. Deckers designs and markets
footwear identified by its many famous trademarks including its UGG® trademark.
5. Upon information and belief, Defendant The RFA Group NYC, LLC
dba The RFA Group, LLC ("Defendant" or "RFA") is a limited liability company
organized and existing under the laws of the state of New York with an office and
principal place of business located at 10 West 37th Street, New York, New York
10018.
6. Deckers is unaware of the names and true capacities of Defendants,
whether individual, corporate and/or partnership entities named herein as DOES 1
through 10, inclusive, and therefore sues them by their fictitious names. Deckers
will seek leave to amend this complaint when their true names and capacities are
ascertained. Deckers is informed and believes and based thereon alleges that said
Defendant and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, are in some manner responsible for
the wrongs alleged herein, and that at all times referenced each was the agent and
servant of the other Defendants and was acting within the course and scope of said
agency and employment.
7. Deckers is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that at
all relevant times herein, Defendant and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, knew or
reasonably should have known of the acts and behavior alleged herein and the
damages caused thereby, and by their inaction ratified and encouraged such acts
and behavior. Deckers further alleges that Defendant and DOES 1 through 10,
inclusive, have a non-delegable duty to prevent or not further such acts and the
behavior described herein, which duty Defendant and DOES 1 through 10,
inclusive, failed and/or refused to perform.
2
ALLEGATIONS COMMON TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTION

A. Deckers’ UGG® Brand
8. Deckers has been engaged in the design, distribution, marketing,
offering for sale, and sale of footwear since 1975. Deckers owns several brands of
footwear including UGG®, Koolaburra®, Teva®, Sanuk®, and Hoka One One®.
9. Deckers' UGG® brand remains one of the most recognized and
relevant comfort shoe brands in the industry. Since 1979, when the UGG® brand
was founded, the popularity of UGG® boots has steadily grown across the nation
and even the globe. The UGG® brand has always been and remains highly coveted
by consumers. This commitment to quality has helped to propel the UGG® brand
to its current, overwhelming level of popularity and cemented its status as a luxury
brand.
10. In 2000, UGG® boots were first featured on Oprah's Favorite
Things® where Oprah emphatically declared on national television how much she
"LOOOOOVES her UGG boots."
11. Deckers' UGG® products are distributed and sold to consumers
through authorized retailers throughout the United States at point-of-sale and on
the Internet, including through its UGG® stores and its website www.ugg.com.
B. Defendant’s Infringing Conduct
12. Upon information and belief, Defendant manufactures, imports,
designs, advertises, markets, distributes, offers for sale, and/or sells footwear for
women and children under its “ISAAC MIZRAHI” brand. Defendant offers its
products wholesale to various retailers, including those within this judicial district.
13. The present lawsuit arises from Defendant's willful infringement of
Deckers' UGG® boot designs, to which Deckers owns design patent and/or trade
dress rights, including rights to the UGG® "Bailey Button" and "Bailey Bow"
3
boots, by certain of Defendant's footwear products ("Accused Products"),

exemplars of which are shown below.
Defendant’s Accused Products

14. Deckers is informed and believes and herein alleges that Defendant is
a competitor and has copied Deckers' boot designs in an effort to exploit Deckers'
reputation in the market.
15. Upon information and belief, Defendant may have sold additional
products that infringe upon Deckers' design patents and trade dresses. Deckers
may seek leave to amend as additional information becomes available through
discovery.
16. Deckers has not granted a license or any other form of permission to
Defendant with respect to its trademarks, design patents, trade dresses, or other
intellectual property.
17. Deckers is informed and believes and herein alleges that Defendant
has acted in bad faith and that Defendant's acts have misled and confused and were
intended to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation,
connection, or association of Defendant's Accused Products with Deckers, or as to
the origin, sponsorship, or approval of Defendant's Accused Products by Deckers.
///
///
4
FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Trade Dress Infringement – 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a))
18. Deckers incorporates herein by reference the averments of the
preceding paragraphs as though fully set forth herein.
19. The UGG® Bailey Button boot was introduced in 2009 and the
"Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress" is unique and distinctive, consisting of a
combination of the following non-functional elements:
• Classic suede boot styling made famous by the UGG® brand;
• Overlapping of front and rear panels on the lateral side of the boot
shaft;
• Curved top edges on the overlapping panels;
• Exposed fleece-type lining edging the overlapping panels and top of
the boot shaft; and
• One or more buttons (depending on the height of the boot)
prominently featured on the lateral side of the boot shaft adjacent the overlapping
panels, on the front panel as illustrated by the photographs below (hereinafter
"Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress").
20. The Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress, which is a composite of the
above-referenced features, is non-functional in its entirety, visually distinctive, and
is unique in the footwear industry.
5
21. The design of the Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress is neither essential
to its use or purpose nor does it affect the cost or quality of the boot. There are
numerous other designs available that are equally feasible and efficient, none of
which necessitate copying or imitating the Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress. The
aforesaid combination of features provides no cost advantages to the manufacturer
or utilitarian advantages to the consumer. These features, in combination, serve
only to render Deckers' UGG® Bailey Button boots distinct and recognizable as
goods originating from Deckers' UGG® brand.
22. The Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress is an original design by Deckers
and has achieved a high degree of consumer recognition and secondary meaning,
which serves to identify Deckers as the source of footwear featuring said trade
dress.
23. The Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress is one of the most well-
recognized and commercially successful styles of Deckers' UGG® brand of
footwear, having been featured on Deckers' advertising and promotional materials
as well as in various trade publications. Furthermore, the Bailey Button Boot
Trade Dress has been featured in connection with various celebrities, has received
a large volume of unsolicited media attention, and has graced the pages of many
popular magazines nationwide and internationally.
24. Deckers has spent substantial time, effort, and money in designing,
developing, advertising, promoting, and marketing the UGG® brand and its line of
footwear embodying the Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress. Deckers spends millions
of dollars annually on advertising of UGG® products, which includes products
bearing the Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress.
25. Deckers has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of UGG®
products bearing the Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress.
26. Due to its long use, extensive sales, and significant advertising and
6
promotional activities, Deckers' Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress has achieved
widespread acceptance and recognition among the consuming public and trade
throughout the United States.
27. There are numerous other boot designs in the footwear industry, none
of which necessitate copying or imitating the Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress.
However, due to the popularity and consumer recognition achieved by the Bailey
Button boot, said design has often been the subject of infringement by third-
parties, including Defendant.
a competitor and has copied Deckers' Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress in an effort
to exploit Deckers' reputation in the market.
29. Certain of the Accused Products produced, distributed, advertised and
offered for sale by Defendant bear nearly identical reproductions of the Bailey
Button Boot Trade Dress, such as to cause a likelihood of confusion as to the
source, sponsorship or approval by Deckers of Defendant's products.
30. Defendant's use of Deckers' Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress is
without Deckers' permission or authority and in total disregard of Deckers' rights to
control its intellectual property.
31. Defendant's use of Deckers' Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress is likely
to lead to and result in confusion, mistake or deception, and is likely to cause the
public to believe that Defendant's products are produced, sponsored, authorized, or
licensed by or are otherwise connected or affiliated with Deckers, all to the
detriment of Deckers.
32. Deckers has no adequate remedy at law.
33. In light of the foregoing, Deckers is entitled to injunctive relief
prohibiting Defendant from using Deckers' Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress, or any
designs confusingly similar thereto, and to recover all damages, including
7
attorneys' fees, that Deckers has sustained and will sustain, and all gains, profits
and advantages obtained by Defendant as a result of its infringing acts alleged
above in an amount not yet known, as well as the costs of this action.
SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
(Trade Dress Infringement – 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a))
35. The UGG® Bailey Bow boot was introduced in 2011 and the "Bailey
Bow Trade Dress" is unique and distinctive, consisting of a combination of the
following non-functional elements:
• Classic suede boot styling made famous by the UGG® brand;
• A smooth boot shaft that has a vertical slit opening at the back of the
shaft;
• Exposed fleece-type lining edging the top of the boot shaft and along
the medial and lateral side edges of the vertical slit opening;
• A tongue at the back of the boot shaft, underlying and closing the
vertical slit opening; and
• One or more bows prominently featured at the rear of the boot shaft
(depending on the height of the boot) extending between the medial and lateral
sides of the shaft over the tongue (hereinafter “Bailey Bow Trade Dress”).
8
36. The Bailey Bow Trade Dress, which is a composite of the above-
referenced features, is non-functional in its entirety, visually distinctive, and is
unique in the footwear industry.
37. The design of the Bailey Bow Trade Dress is neither essential to its
use or purpose nor does it affect the cost or quality of the boot. There are
numerous other designs available that are equally feasible and efficient, none of
which necessitate copying or imitating the Bailey Bow Trade Dress. The aforesaid
combination of features provides no cost advantages to the manufacturer or
utilitarian advantages to the consumer. These features, in combination, serve only
to render Deckers’ UGG® Bailey Bow boots distinct and recognizable as goods
originating from Deckers’ UGG® brand.
38. The Bailey Bow Trade Dress is an original design by Deckers and has
achieved a high degree of consumer recognition and secondary meaning, which
serves to identify Deckers as the source of footwear featuring said trade dress.
39. The Bailey Bow Trade Dress is one of the most well-recognized and
commercially successful styles of Deckers’ UGG® brand of footwear, having been
featured on Deckers’ advertising and promotional materials as well as in various
trade publications. Furthermore, the Bailey Bow Trade Dress has been featured in
connection with various celebrities, has received unsolicited media attention, and
has graced the pages of many popular magazines nationwide and internationally.
40. Deckers has spent substantial time, effort, and money in designing,
developing, advertising, promoting, and marketing the UGG® brand and its line of
footwear embodying the Bailey Bow Trade Dress. Deckers spends millions of
dollars annually on advertising of UGG® products, which include products bearing
the Bailey Bow Trade Dress.
41. Deckers has sold nearly $400 million worth of UGG® products
bearing the Bailey Bow Trade Dress.
9
42. Due to its long use, extensive sales, and significant advertising and
promotional activities, Deckers’ Bailey Bow Trade Dress has achieved widespread
acceptance and recognition among the consuming public and trade throughout the
United States.
43. There are numerous other boot designs in the footwear industry, none
of which necessitate copying or imitating the Bailey Bow Trade Dress. However,
due to the popularity and consumer recognition achieved by the Bailey Bow Trade
Dress, said design has been the subject of infringement by third-parties, including
Defendant.
a competitor and has copied Deckers’ Bailey Bow Trade Dress in an effort to
exploit Deckers’ reputation in the market.
45. The Accused Products produced, distributed, advertised and offered
for sale by Defendant bear nearly identical reproductions of the Bailey Bow Trade
Dress, such as to cause a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship or
approval by Deckers of Defendant’s products.
46. Defendant’s use of Deckers’ Bailey Bow Trade Dress is without
Deckers’ permission or authority and in total disregard of Deckers’ rights to
control its intellectual property.
47. Defendant’s use of Deckers’ Bailey Bow Trade Dress is likely to lead
to and result in confusion, mistake or deception, and is likely to cause the public to
believe that Defendant’s products are produced, sponsored, authorized, or licensed
by or are otherwise connected or affiliated with Deckers, all to the detriment of
Deckers.
48. Deckers has no adequate remedy at law.
prohibiting Defendant from using Deckers’ Bailey Bow Trade Dress, or any
10
designs confusingly similar thereto, and to recover all damages, including

attorneys’ fees, that Deckers has sustained and will sustain, and all gains, profits
and advantages obtained by Defendant as a result of its infringing acts alleged
above in an amount not yet known, as well as the costs of this action.
THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF
(Trade Dress Infringement under New York Common Law)
51. Defendant’s infringement of the Bailey Button Boot Trade Dress and
the Bailey Bow Trade Dress (hereinafter, collectively, “UGG Trade Dresses”)
constitutes common law trade dress infringement in violation of the common law
of the state of New York.
52. Defendant’s unauthorized use of the UGG Trade Dresses has caused
and is likely to cause confusion as to the source of Defendant’s products, all to the
detriment of Deckers.
53. Defendant’s acts are willful, deliberate, and intended to confuse the
public and to injure Deckers.
54. Deckers has no adequate remedy at law to compensate it fully for the
damages that have been caused and which will continue to be caused by
Defendant’s infringing conduct, unless it is enjoined by this Court.
55. The conduct herein complained of was extreme, outrageous, and was
inflicted on Deckers in reckless disregard of Deckers’ rights. Said conduct was
despicable and harmful to Deckers and as such supports an award of exemplary
and punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish and make an example of
Defendant, and to deter it from similar conduct in the future.
prohibiting Defendant from infringing the UGG Trade Dresses, and to recover all
11
damages, including attorneys’ fees, that Deckers has sustained and will sustain,
and all gains, profits and advantages obtained by Defendant as a result of its
infringing acts alleged above in an amount not yet known, and the costs of this
action.
FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
(Unfair Competition Under New York Common Law)
58. Defendant's infringement of the UGG Trade Dresses constitutes unfair
competition in violation of the common law of the state of New York.
59. Defendant is a competitor of Deckers and has copied Deckers' boot
designs in an effort to exploit Deckers' reputation in the market.
60. Defendant's infringing acts were intended to capitalize on Deckers'
goodwill associated therewith for Defendant's own pecuniary gain. Deckers has
expended substantial time, resources and effort to obtain an excellent reputation for
its brands of footwear. As a result of Deckers' efforts, Defendant is now unjustly
enriched and is benefiting from property rights that rightfully belong to Deckers.
61. Defendant's acts are willful, deliberate, and intended to confuse the
public and to injure Deckers.
62. Deckers has no adequate remedy at law to compensate it fully for the
damages that have been caused and which will continue to be caused by
Defendant's infringing conduct, unless it is enjoined by this Court.
63. The conduct herein complained of was extreme, outrageous, and was
inflicted on Deckers in reckless disregard of Deckers' rights. Said conduct was
despicable and harmful to Deckers and as such supports an award of exemplary
and punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish and make an example of
Defendant, and to deter it from similar conduct in the future.
12

prohibiting Defendant from infringing the UGG Trade Dresses and to recover all
damages, including attorneys' fees, that Deckers has sustained and will sustain, and
all gains, profits and advantages obtained by Defendant as a result of its infringing
acts alleged above in an amount not yet known, and the costs of this action.
FIFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
(Patent Infringement – U.S. Patent No. D599,999)
66. Deckers is the owner of numerous design patents to the various styles
of footwear it offers under its UGG® brand. These design patents include but are
not limited to the “Bailey Button” boot (U.S. Patent No. D599,999; issued on
September 15, 2009), a true and correct copy of which is attached hereto and
incorporated herein as Exhibit A (“ ‘999 Patent”).
67. Deckers is the owner by assignment of all right, title and interest in
and to the ‘999 Patent.
68. The Accused Products that Defendant has caused to be produced,
distributed, advertised, marketed, offered for sale, and/or sold within the United
States, and/or has imported into the United States bear a design that is substantially
similar to the ‘999 Patent in direct violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271.
69. Defendant’s aforesaid infringing acts are without Deckers’ permission
or authority and are in total disregard of Deckers’ right to control its intellectual
property.
70. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s infringing conduct,
Deckers has been injured and will continue to suffer injury to its business and
reputation unless Defendant is restrained by this Court from infringing Deckers’
‘999 Patent.
13
71. Defendant’s acts have damaged and will continue to damage Deckers,
and Deckers has no adequate remedy at law.
72. Deckers has marked substantially all footwear products embodying
the design of the ‘999 Patent with “Pat. No. 599,999” on a product label in
compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 287.
73. Given the widespread popularity and recognition of Deckers’ Bailey
Button boot and the patent notice provided on the products themselves, Deckers
avers and hereon alleges that Defendant had pre-suit knowledge of Deckers’ rights
to the ‘999 Patent and has intentionally copied said design on its own brand of
products in an effort to pass them off as if they originated, are associated with, are
affiliated with, are sponsored by, are authorized by, and/or are approved by
Deckers.
74. On information and belief, Defendant’s acts herein complained of
constitute willful acts and intentional infringement of the ‘999 Patent.
prohibiting Defendant from infringing the ‘999 Patent and to recover damages
adequate to compensate for the infringement, including Defendant’s profits
pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 289. Deckers is also entitled to recover any other damages
as appropriate pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 284.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Deckers Outdoor Corporation respectfully prays
for judgment against Defendant The RFA Group NYC, LLC dba The RFA Group,
LLC as follows:
1. A judgment that Defendant has infringed Deckers’ UGG Trade
Dresses and ‘999 Patent and that said infringement was willful;
2. An order granting temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctive
relief restraining and enjoining Defendant, its agents, servants, employees, officers,
14
associates, attorneys, and all persons acting by, through, or in concert with any of
them from using Deckers’ intellectual property, including, but not limited to:
a. Manufacturing, importing, advertising, marketing, promoting,
supplying, distributing, offering for sale, or selling the Accused Products or any
other products which bear Deckers’ UGG Trade Dresses and/or any designs
confusingly similar thereto, as well as any products bearing designs that infringe
upon the ‘999 Patent and/or the overall appearance thereof;
b. Engaging in any other activity constituting unfair competition with
Deckers, or acts and practices that deceive consumers, the public, and/or trade,
including without limitation, the use of designations and design elements used or
owned by or associated with Deckers; and
c. Committing any other act which falsely represents or which has the
effect of falsely representing that the goods and services of Defendant are licensed
by, authorized by, offered by, produced by, sponsored by, or in any other way
associated with Deckers;
3. Ordering Defendant to recall from any distributors and retailers and to
deliver to Deckers for destruction or other disposition all remaining inventory of
all Accused Products and related items, including all advertisements, promotional
and marketing materials therefore, as well as means of making same;
4. Ordering Defendant to file with this Court and serve on Deckers
within thirty (30) days after entry of the injunction a report in writing, under oath
setting forth in detail the manner and form in which Defendant has complied with
the injunction;
5. Ordering an accounting by Defendant of all gains, profits and
advantages derived from its wrongful acts pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a) and 35
U.S.C. § 289;
6. Awarding Deckers all of Defendant’s profits and all damages
15
sustained by Deckers as a result of Defendant’s wrongful acts, and such other

compensatory damages as the Court determines to be fair and appropriate;
7. Awarding treble damages in the amount of Defendant’s profits or
Deckers’ damages, whichever is greater, for willful infringement;
8. Awarding applicable interest, costs, disbursements and attorneys’
fees;
9. Awarding Deckers’ punitive damages in connection with its claims
under California law; and
10. Such other relief as may be just and proper.
Dated: May 21, 2019 Respectfully Submitted,

Manhattan Beach, California
________________________________
Brent H. Blakely (BB 1966)
Blakely Law Group
1334 Parkview Avenue, Suite 280
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Telephone: 310-546-7400
Attorney for Plaintiff
Deckers Outdoor Corporation
16
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

Pursuant to Rule 38(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff
Deckers Outdoor Corporation hereby demands a trial by jury of all claims in this
litigation.
Dated: May 21, 2019 Respectfully Submitted,

Manhattan Beach, California
________________________________
Brent H. Blakely (BB 1966)
Blakely Law Group
1334 Parkview Avenue, Suite 280
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Telephone: 310-546-7400
Attorney for Plaintiff
Deckers Outdoor Corporation
17
Case 1:19-cv-04725 Document 1-1 Filed 05/22/19 Page 1 of 8
EXHIBIT A
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Case 1:19-cv-04725 Document 1 Filed 05/22/19 Page 1 of 17

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

THE RFA GROUP NYC, LLC, a New

Plaintiff Deckers Outdoor Corporation for its claims against Defendant

ALLEGATIONS COMMON TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTION

boots, by certain of Defendant's footwear products ("Accused Products"),

Defendant’s Accused Products

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF

designs confusingly similar thereto, and to recover all damages, including

64. In light of the foregoing, Deckers is entitled to injunctive relief

sustained by Deckers as a result of Defendant’s wrongful acts, and such other

Dated: May 21, 2019 Respectfully Submitted,

DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

Dated: May 21, 2019 Respectfully Submitted,

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